This Kansas school district is prepping students for professional success

Students in Topeka, Kansas, said they wanted better early career development programs, and one school district decided to take action. 

Washburn Rural High School, which is in the Auburn-Washburn Unified School District 437, recently finished construction on its 50,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art Innovation Center. The new expansion houses nine STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) programs in an effort to better prepare students for postgraduate education and careers as well as to help fill current and future labor needs. 

"Student engagement is one of the best drivers of student success at school," says Scott McWilliams, the Auburn-Washburn superintendent of schools. "Helping them understand what they want to pursue as an adult and showing them how to get them best prepared for success in the things they want to do — having those conversations earlier is not just a nice engagement tool, it's good for kids, too." 

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Seventy-five percent of high schoolers have a career in mind, according to the ECMC Foundation, and 39% of high schoolers have taken classes or participated in programs to help them explore careers. At WRHS, three-quarter of students choose to engage with one of the 18 career-focused pathway programs. Nine of those programs — animal science, comprehensive agriculture, power, structural and technical systems, construction and design, digital media, biomedical, restaurant and event management, and programming and software — will now be housed in the new Innovation Center.

Incoming freshmen will now be able to select from those pathway programs as electives. And while they'll have the freedom to switch between specialties, those who find a passion in a certain pathway may continue to improve in that specific area and potentially graduate with official certifications. 

Melissa Kasprzyk

For example, this past year a group of students pursuing the biomedical pathway graduated from WRHS certificates to be biotechnician assistants — the first cohort in the state of Kansas to do so. 

"We wanted to nurture creativity and critical thinking skills and collaboration as well as problem solving through the Innovation Center," McWilliams says. "In hands-on learning opportunities, things don't always work well or easily or right the first time and that's okay. It's part of the process. Here we solve what didn't go well and how we can course correct and make the necessary adjustments to get the right final product." 

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But it's not just student's that benefit from these kinds of programs —  neighboring businesses do too. Seventy percent of jobs are expected to require specialized skills by 2031, according to a Georgetown University workforce study but only 35% will require a four-year degree. Investing in early career development opportunities can also help fill labor shortages if more students — particularly those who won't need additional schooling — have access to the required training and workforce skills. 

Already a few students going through the construction pathway have gone on to work with local contractors in the community both in between semesters and after graduation. 

"With the current cost of universities, there's a whole lot of economic advantage to go a different route if that aligns with your strengths and your interests," McWilliams says. "But you don't know that unless you're engaging in those conversations, not only at home, but also in school." 

However, even students who go on to attend university after their time at WRHS are still learning valuable workplace skills through the Innovation Center. Ultimately, the goal is career readiness, whatever that may mean for each individual student. 

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"We wanted students to be able to answer the question: 'Do I see myself doing this for the long haul or not?'" McWilliams says. "And I would say that one of the best things we as educators can do for students and families is to be able to answer that question when they're in high school." 

The current set-up of pathways was carefully designed according to the current demand for careers within their student population and in the workforce at large. McWilliams acknowledges that both of those things can change over time. This is why he and his team ensured that there's room and resources to swap out one pathway for a new one, should it be necessary. Students should always be able to see themselves in the opportunities the school provides, he says.  

"We know that what we currently have in the Innovation Center today won't meet the same requirements 20 years from now," McWilliams says. "We want to continue to be real, relevant, current and best meeting the needs not only of our students but also our local community in the long haul."